The present invention relates to hangers and, more particularly, to garment hangers for pants, skirts and the like.
Garments, such as pants, slacks or skirts, are generally shipped to retail outlets on hangers. Typically, the hanger engages the garment at the waistband and a plurality of garments are displayed on a rack to the customer. The garment hanger must engage the garment sufficiently so that it will not drop or fall from the hanger during shipment. It is also desirable that the hanger not detract from the visual presentation of the garment at the retail level.
A garment hanger which has achieved wide acceptance in the transport and display of garments at the retail level is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,092 entitled GARMENT CLAMPING HANGER WITH SLIDEABLE LOCKING CLIP, which issued on Oct. 23, 1973 to Garrison et al. As disclosed therein, the garment hanger includes an elongated main body having a generally I-beam shape in cross section and integral clamps at the ends thereof. Each clamp includes a rear clamp member in effect defined by and integral the hanger body. A front clamp member is hinged to the rear clamp member and body along an upper edge thereof. The clamp members are biased together and locked by a generally U-shape spring clip. When used, the garment covers the front face of the hanger body when it is positioned in the clamps. When viewed from the front, the front clamp members, a minor portion of the body and a support hook are viewed. When viewed from the rear of the garment, the elongated garment body and rear clamp members can be seen. The clamp-type garment hanger, including the spring clips, engages the garment with sufficient strength so that the garment may be shipped on the hanger. The profile of the garment hanger is such that detraction from the visual presentation of the garment is minimized. Examples of other hangers of the same general type may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,274 entitled GARMENT GRIP CONSTRUCTION HANGERS, which issued on Mar. 25, 1980 to Garrison and U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,705 entitled ARTICLE GRIPPING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME, which issued on Jun. 4, 1991 to Garrison.
The body of the prior clamp-type hanger must be relatively rigid and constructed to withstand the side bending loads imposed thereon by the garment. It is important that the garments be properly positioned on the hangers and on the display rack so that only front clamp members are viewed. In addition, problems have been encountered using such hangers with garments having thick waistbands or with garments that are shipped with a belt threaded through garment belt loops. The thickness of the waistband area and/or the presence of the belt presents problems with rehanging the garments after they have been removed from the hangers by the customer. The customer may experience difficulty in applying the hanger due to the thickness of the waistband or interference with the belt. The retailer must spend time, therefore, rehanging the garments to improve the appearance of the display.
A need exists for a garment hanger which further minimizes the detraction from the visual presentation of the garment at the retail level, which permits the garment to be shipped thereon to the retailer and which overcomes the aforementioned difficulties encountered with thick waistbands and/or garments shipped with a belt.